Board Meeting Minutes – September 29, 2016
Stillwater Amateur Radio Association
1618 Pine Street West
Stillwater, Minnesota 55082
Roll Call of Officers – All seven officers were in attendance.
President: Joe KCØOIO
The meeting was called to order at 6:04 PM.
Secretary’s Report – Steve KAØOBI
Minutes from the Board Meeting on August 25th, 2016 have been posted on the website. No additional comments from the group.
Treasurers Report – John N5JLZ
Beginning Balance 8/1/2016 $2,919.12
Income $20.00
Expenses $126.32
Ending Balance 8/31/2016 $2,812.80 (Not including HELP income/expenses)
$15,037.75 (Including HELP income/expenses)
Reports of Committees:
Activities & Events: Dave WØOXB
Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald – Nov 4th-6th – Several new visitors have confirmed they will be attending this year. The Friday night fish fry is available and reservations have already been made for a large room. The breakfast place is still in business and will be available. So far no plans have been set for the Saturday night meal but John N5JLZ volunteered to get the food in preparation for that meal.
Two new storage tubs for the complete HF stations are mostly ready except for a power supply, tuner, and an adapter.
Notice of the event has already been submitted to ARRL for their website and November issue.
Ice Station WØJH – the event will be held Feb 18th– 20th, 2017. Dave KØAIF has agreed to host again just across from his house on Lake Elmo. An antenna will be put up well before the event.
Nets – The 75 meter net on Tuesday nights at 7:30 PM has been a great success with 10 participants each night the first two weeks. The frequency is 3.816 MHz +/-. The Digital net will return Sunday, October 9th at 7:00 PM.
MAP: Dave WØOXB
So far there are several new antenna projects where assistance has been requested for this season. A spreadsheet has been created to track these projects, assign volunteers, and schedule installation dates. The schedule will be discussed at another Thursday evening meeting. Please keep in mind that Dave will be gone most of October.
Meetings & Programs – Joe KCØOIO
September – On the Waterfall – Live! – Joe KCOIO – was well received and generated a lot of new interest in trying this HF mode.
October – VKØEK Heard Island – Bill AEØEE – confirmed and his info will appear in Oct newsletter.
November – Using RCForb – Pat WAØTDA
December – Ask the Elmer/Stump the Elmer Roundtable or SDR Show-N-Tell IC-7300 & FLEX 1500.
January – SWEEP
February or March – DMR (Digital Mobile Radio with MNDMR (not firmed up yet).
Additional ideas for February to May programs: Antenna analyzers, DMMs and other Diagnostic Gizmos; Baluns, Ununs, and Chokes; Mobile Installation – Tips, Tricks, and Pratfalls; Maidenhead Grid Squares; Operating Portable Roundtable; Propagation – Can I get there from here?; Station grounding; Tuners – Manual versus Auto & Their Care & Feeding; Special Interest Clubs – SKCC, County Hunters, QCWA, 070, OMISS, YLRL; Antique Radios – Peter NØMR; Setting up your Shack; New Technicians: Here’s what you can do now.
Education & Training Report – Bob WØGAF
The training class for General that started September 15th at the library has been well attended. The upcoming VE session is scheduled for November 10th and is already staffed.
Newsletter & Websites – Pat Tice WAØTDA (not present), Dave WØOXB, Peter NØGRM
The October issue deadline is September 30th with a publishing date of October 3rd. The November issue deadline is October 29th with a publishing date of November 5th (Split Rock event weekend).
Repeater – Henry KØHAS & Shel NØDRX
The Digipeater plan is to use a Kenwood D700 as the digipeater. An appropriate cabinet for the secure mounting at the site is being researched.
Unfinished Business
HELP Project – Gary Grivna Electronic Repair will be evaluating the cost of repairing two Kenwood TS-570 and a Ten-Tec Pegasus transceiver. Some other non-functioning gear from Handihams: Drake TR-3 @ NØSON, FT847 @ NØDRX, IC706 MKII @OIO, and a Ten-Tec Pegasus @ OIO may be used as trade items to barter for Gary’s repair costs.
We need to establish a process for maintaining the Remote Bases and their related expenses.
Handiham Program – Several requests have been received for information and assistance regarding the Handiham program. Nancy at Allina seems to be referring those requests to SARA. We need to reiterate our limited role according to the scope as defined in the MOU. Dave WØOXB suggested pulling the Handiham banner from the website and newsletter in order to eliminate any confusion. Allina apparently has an upcoming meeting where they will discuss the future of the Handiham Program.
Eyeball Session – build project suggestions include – baluns, portable wire antennas, Buddisticks, Roll-up J-Poles, and SWR Bridge Calibration (KØGW).
Equipment Trailer – it was brought up in a previous board meeting that we should consider purchasing an equipment trailer ( 5’ x 8’ or 6’ x 10’ ) to house portable shelters, equipment storage tubs and other club items. The research continues to find the right trailer at the right price.
New Business
None
The meeting was adjourned at 6:53 PM.